


He Sings the Songs that Remind Him of the Best Times

by talesfromthewater



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fred Weasley Lives, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 12:14:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30072069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talesfromthewater/pseuds/talesfromthewater
Summary: Fred was almost killed in the battle of Hogwarts.  Throughout his healing process, Hermione and George are there for him every step of the way.  He's in love with Hermione so what happens when he thinks that she and George are secretly dating?And what song do George and Hermione sing for a karaoke night at the shop?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Kudos: 28





	He Sings the Songs that Remind Him of the Best Times

**Author's Note:**

> I'm currently working on another fic that is pretty heavy so this was a nice little break from writing that one. I definitely see George getting a kick out of this song and band name. 
> 
> Basically it was something fun for me to write, if there are any errors, please let me know :)

There was an immediate sense of relief as Voldemort fell to Harry Potter in the battle of Hogwarts. Students and teachers alike rejoiced, but only for a moment. As they all looked around and saw the destruction the castle had endured through the last couple of hours tears sprang to their eyes. When they looked around for some of their loved ones that had started the night with them, those tears began to fall. The Great Hall currently served as an infirmary as well as a place to take those who lost the battle. They had had time to mourn in the middle of the night, as Voldemort called off his troops and requested only Harry, but it was cut short and they’d all been brought to battle again. Now, the reality of the battle was beginning to sink in. Even events from earlier that evening seemed like a lifetime ago. 

George Weasley was one half of a duo that always brought joy to his family, laughing and joking about his everyday life. He and Fred, his twin, had been born in a magical family, but beyond the magic that ran in their bones was another magic. They had a magical ability to make anyone smile no matter what they were dealing with; they did this through jokes, pranks, tales, and sometimes just even a comforting word. It was unusual to see them upset or the ones that needed comforting. Hermione Granger, a longtime friend of the Weasley family remembered only one time that the twins had displayed any sort of emotion other than joy; when they served detention with Umbridge in their final year, and even after that instead of dwelling on it, they used their magical abilities to make the younger students feel better. 

Until tonight. Hermione watched as George fell to the floor beside a cot in the Great Hall and was running to his side in an instant. The rest of the Weasley family filed in and made their way over to the elder twin’s cot. Hermione had Fred’s hand in one of hers and George’s in the other, sobbing with George, as the family came together to mourn. Fred Weasley had always been the other half of a duo that forever brought joy to those he loved, that wasn’t going to change tonight. Hermione felt a feather-soft movement in her hand and her eyes shot open, “He just moved his hand!” she exclaimed to the family. 

“What?” George said, voice cracking as he did.

Madam Pomfrey rushed over, “Oh, you’re all here, I’m so sorry I was trying to get to you before you came in and saw him.”

Molly shook her head, “What is happening?”

“Fred was brought in by Draco Malfoy and Percy,” she looked at the Weasley brother, “A wall fell on him thanks to a misfire at a wall from Mister Malfoy. He was unresponsive and it didn’t look good, I tried everything, including muggle healing, and managed to get him back but barely. I went to find your lot and come back to find you here. For all intents and purposes, it would appear as though he was gone, because he’s got a lot of magical healing spells and potions in him right now; he’s leaving for St. Mungo’s after a couple of others.”

George’s cries broke through the hall, only his family knew they were tears of joy. Hermione leaned down and pressed a kiss to Fred’s forehead, promising that she wouldn’t be far behind him to St. Mungo’s. It was barely three minutes later that the transporters came and took Fred, followed closely by George and Molly, to the magical hospital. The rest of the family were embracing each other, and before they left Arthur had heard Molly ask George if Fred and Hermione were together. George had shaken his head, telling his mum that they were just close friends. Arthur saw his son whisper something to Molly and made a note to ask her about it later. 

Hermione met with her friends, wrapping Harry in a tight hug before opening her arm to Ron for him to join. They had made it through, the three of them together. Their family made it through, barely, but they had and it would take time but they would recover. The rest of the morning saw Harry break the Elder Wand and throw it off the bridge, leaving Ron with his jaw on the cracked concrete. Neville and Luna came out to the bridge to meet with the trio getting hugs and congratulations, and thanks for everything they did. Hermione was overwhelmed with pride in both of them, but especially Neville as she remembered the night she stunned him in the common room first year and how far he had come since then. 

Harry had gone into the Hall and Hermione found him in between Tonks and Lupin, whispering goodbyes and thanks to the both of them for all they had done for him. Harry made sure to tell Remus that he couldn’t have done it with any of this without all he had learned from his former teacher. Hermione squeezed his shoulder and said whispered her own goodbyes to the two order members and told Harry she was going to St. Mungo’s to meet up with the Weasleys. He, in turn, promised he wouldn’t be far behind her. Ron and Hermione came together in front of Professor McGonagall. For the first time in their lives, they saw her disheveled but she smiled warmly at the both of them and pulled them into a hug. 

“Why is it when bad things happen it’s always involving you three?” she chuckled.

“Didn’t mean to drag the whole wizarding world into this one.” Ron laughed in response. 

“Come along, you can use the floo in my office to get to the hospital. When Mr. Potter is done, I’ll ensure he gets there the same way.” 

Ten minutes later they were stepping out of the floo into the hospital and found Molly waiting for them with open arms, “Minerva sent a Patronus to let us know you were on your way. She’ll do the same when Harry is coming along.” 

“How is Fred?” Hermione asked.

“They’ve placed him in a coma. They’re hopeful that he’ll be okay, but we won’t know yet.” She tried to look hopeful, but the worry was clear on her face and Hermione hugged her. 

“How is everyone else?” Ron asked.

“Doing as best we can.” She smiled sadly at her youngest son, “Come on, let’s go see the rest of the family.” 

They found the rest of the Weasley family sitting outside of door 23, and Ron went over to hug the rest of his siblings, hesitating only slightly when he came to Percy. Molly pulled Hermione in close and whispered to the young girl, “I’d be okay with it, you know?”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You and Fred, I see how you look at him and how worried you were for him. That comes from a place of love.” At that comment, Molly watched as Hermione blushed.

“We’re just friends.”

“If you say so, but if you ever wanted to change that I’d be thrilled.” The Weasley matriarch kissed the side of the younger witches’ head, “You can go in and see him if you want, we’ve all already been in and George is still in there, but he won’t mind.”

“Thank you.” She said, excusing herself from the embrace and making her way to the door. 

Harry showed up about twenty minutes later and when Hermione came out of the room with George, Harry and Ron took a turn going in. Hermione guessed that Ron’s emotional range, or lack thereof, wanted Harry with him and Harry would always be there for his friend. 

And then for the next three months, George and Hermione barely left the hospital as Fred recovered. He was in his coma for two months until one morning when Hermione was softly reading a muggle book to him, his eyes fluttered open and he made a comment about what she was reading. At the sound of his ragged voice, she dropped the book from her hands and looked up at him, meeting his waiting gaze. She surged forward and kissed his forehead, and then pulled back and excused herself before Fred could even get another word out. She knew the healers didn’t like it when people moved faster than a walk in the halls, but she was sprinting until she found George. George had just left for a couple of minutes to pop home and get a shower and a change of clothes and Hermione crashed into him coming out of the floo. 

“Woah, ‘Mione, careful; I know we’re in a hospital but I’m already worried enough about Freddie, don’t need to be worried about you too.” he laughed as he caught her in his arms. 

“He’s awake,” she breathed as she turned quickly and grabbed his arm, “Come on!” and then they were both sprinting through the halls and getting disapproving looks from the staff. The healer in charge was in Fred’s room, taking notes of all his vitals and smiling. He was there for another moment before he excused himself stating that he would be back shortly to check on Fred again. 

George rushed to hug his twin and then Hermione joined them at Fred’s request after he had a solid minute of twin hugs. Fred would be in the hospital for another month while he finished healing, and George and Hermione would be with him every day. Fred and George had spoken on multiple occasions of the plans to get the store back open, and Fred had sent George to the shop to check on everything. He insisted since George told him that he hadn’t been to the store since Fred was hurt. Fred of course wanted to know that the store was alright, and also wanted some time with Hermione. 

George seemed to catch on to his brother’s ruse and smirked at him as he left, promising to sneak him something better than hospital food as he did. 

“Hey, Hermione, come here.” He shifted his body over so she could sit on the bed beside him, and she did, leading him to take her hand. 

“Everything okay, Fred?” She took in the look on his face.

“Everything is great, love. This is just the first time I’ve had you alone since I’ve woken up and I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for being here every day, thank you for being there that night, thank you for everything.” He lowered his eyes from hers as his voice had gone soft. 

She didn’t know what to say, she wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to thank her, that she was there because she wanted to be because she loved him, but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t tell him the last part, because she accepted a long time ago that they would remain forever friends and nothing more. She tried to find the words to get everything she wanted to say. 

“Fred, you don’t need to thank me.”

“Yes, I do.” He lowered his voice to a whisper, “I heard you, you know? Here, every day, reading or just talking to me. I heard it all.”

Hermione immediately thought back to if she could have said anything that indicated the feelings she held for him, but she didn’t think she had, “You did?”

“I did. I even heard you and Georgie forming a pretty good relationship.” He broke eye contact with her when he said that. 

“Oh geez, we had our fair share of laughs while waiting for you to wake.” 

Fred bowed his head, “Yeah, I heard a lot of them. I heard everyone at some point. I’m sure I missed things too when I was sleeping if that’s what it’s called,” he laughed, “But you and George were probably the most entertaining. You seem closer than you were before.”

“We are, he’s been really great through all of this.” She couldn’t tell Fred that George knew about the crush she harboured on his twin. She couldn’t tell Fred that he teased her about it every time the doctors shooed them from the room or another family member came to visit. She tried to catch Fred’s eye again, “I’m sure you heard our discussions about the shop?” 

He nodded at that, “Some, likely not all though. Sounded like you had some good ideas.”

She smiled, “They’ll be better once you get your hands on them I’m sure.” She nudged his hand with hers. 

“We’ll see.” He smirked, “I have to get out of here first.”

“You will, soon enough. The healers are impressed with how you’ve been doing.” 

“They told me today they think I’ll be able to go home soon, but I’ll have to come back daily or every other day for treatments.”

“Well, I’ll be there every step of the way, as long as you want me that is.” 

He nodded and their afternoon carried on relatively normally. Hermione could tell that Fred’s demeanor was slightly different than normal, but she knew he’d had treatment that morning and figured that was the cause of it. Over the course of the month he was awake in the hospital they had talked about so many different things. She filled him in on their year on the run and hunting Horcruxes. He filled her in on what they were doing in the order while they were gone. They talked about what happened in the battle and how they thought Fred was gone. Hermione felt a tear fall and quickly wiped it away. 

“I was so scared when I saw you there, Fred.” He took that opportunity to take her hand in his, “You looked like you were gone, we thought you were.”

“I’m right here.”

“I know. I just, the thought of losing you was too much.”

“You would have been okay. They all would have.”

“Not even a little bit. You say you heard us but then you say things like that. You didn’t hear George or see George that night. He wouldn’t have been okay, I wouldn’t have been okay. The rest of your family wouldn’t have been okay.”

“You and George would have been okay, eventually. You were okay.”

“We were okay because you were alive. Where is this coming from?”

“Nowhere, I just think you would have been okay. You and him, you’re good for each other, you would have both been fine, together.”

“We do complement each other well, I’ll give you that; however, if you’re implying what I think you’re implying you couldn’t be farther from being right.” she started to giggle. 

“What’s funny?”

“It sounds like you’re saying that you think George and I would have been okay because we would have gotten together.”

He looked at her with a silent question that she answered, “Georgie and I are just friends.” When he looked at her again, she dropped her voice, “He’s been teasing me about the man I do fancy though, the git.” 

“Well, let’s hear all about him then.” he tried to keep his voice sounding light.

“Absolutely not!” She exclaimed quickly, trying to cover her outburst by adding, “One Weasley twin teasing me is bad enough.” She knew that if Fred ever found out about her crush she would never be able to show her face around him again and living with hidden unrequited feelings was far better than losing him altogether to unrequited feelings.

“I’ll get it out of you, or George, eventually, Granger.” He winked, but Hermione didn’t miss the lack of his usual enthusiasm and worried if he had guessed her secret. 

***

Fred was released from the hospital and was able to go home to the flat above the joke shop. George and Hermione arranged for her to come by during the days while he was down in the shop getting it ready for re-opening, which they were hoping to do before October. Oftentimes she came over and ended up staying into the night hanging out with the twins, and joking around with both of them. Fred was extremely observant of the relationship she had with Georgie, but couldn’t bring himself to ask her or his twin about it. There was a point where he would have put money on George knowing about the crush he had on his brother’s friend, but now he convinced himself that there was no way George knew. Because if George knew and he was pursuing this kind of relationship with her then that would hurt Fred probably more than the wall did. 

This particular day he had been officially cleared by the doctor as having passed all the necessary points in his recovery. He was still to check in with the healer weekly but he was allowed to resume a normal life. Albeit, if you asked him he had no idea what ‘normal’ even looked like. When he told George and Hermione the news, they both hugged him tightly and then joined together in a group hug and exclaimed that they would be celebrating that night. 

He had gone to tell Molly the good news, and she said that family dinner on Sunday would be a perfect time to tell everyone else, she would make sure everyone was there. She cried tears of joy as she held the oldest twin and spoiled him with baked goods and lunch. He got back to the flat to find the two he left in the kitchen making his favourite foods for dinner and laughing and joking as they worked seamlessly together on the task in front of them. 

“Do you need any help here?” He asked.

“Absolutely not, Fred! We’re making this for you to celebrate, we’re not making you help us! Go put your feet up and we’ll be done shortly.” Hermione admonished him. 

“I’ve done nothing but have my feet up the past weeks, let me help with something.”

George and Hermione looked at each other, unimpressed, before George relented knowing he couldn’t refuse his twin, “Fine. You can set the table then. This should be done in a few moments.”

They knew that wasn’t what he meant but they were in the middle of discussing the final details of the idea they wanted to pitch to him that night and snickered when they saw him roll his eyes but grab the dishes. 

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Hermione whispered to George. Fred was watching the whisper to each other in the kitchen as he set the table, suddenly feeling his appetite disappear. He was not keen on sitting and watching them be lovey-dovey with each other, but he also knew that he had to be careful or George would pick up on his mood quicker than he could say ‘mischief managed’. 

He watched George nod and then look in the direction of brother, who he also noticed quickly averted his eyes from the two in the kitchen. True to their word, they brought the food in and they all sat in their usual places passing the dishes around and filling their plates. They had started to eat when Hermione spoke, “How was your visit to the Burrow?” she asked Fred. 

He swallowed the bite in his mouth, “It was great. Mum said we’ll have a big family dinner Sunday. She’ll make sure everyone is there. Cried for about twenty minutes when I told her the good news and then filled me up with lunch and treats.” Fred smiled. He never really got alone time with his Mum like that and didn’t truly realize until today how special that time was. He made a mental note to try to do that more. 

“That’s wonderful.” She smiled at him, “We wanted to talk to you about something.” She looked unsure at George who nodded at her encouragingly. 

_Oh, Merlin_ , Fred thought, _here it comes_. He took a deep breath and geared himself up to hear the story of how they fell in love while he was recovering. 

“You okay, Freddie?” George asked, noticing the look on his brother’s face. That seemed to push Fred further into his thoughts as it brought him back to the night he almost died. 

“Yeah.” He said, “What is it you two wanted to talk to me about?”

George nodded at Hermione again, who took a deep breath and said, “Well, when you went to the burrow today I went down to hang out with George and see if he needed any help. We got to talking and since the store is almost ready to open again and you just got such wonderful news, we should have a party.”

George piped in then, “Plus Hermione’s birthday is coming up so it can be one big party to celebrate her birthday, you finishing your recovery, and having some peace in our world finally.” He smiled. 

“You don’t have to share your party with my birthday, Fred. I want to celebrate your recovery and have everyone together, but if you don’t want all the spotlight on you, then we could use my birthday as a front of sorts.” She looked at him sheepishly, “George just wants to celebrate everything it seems.” 

“There is a lot to celebrate.” He laughed. 

“I think it’s a great idea, what do you guys have in mind?”

“Well, we could do it in the shop, I’ve only been working on stock and everything is still in storage from when we boarded the place up before the war. We could do it the weekend before we plan to open, and then use the week after the party to get the store set up to open. Hermione wants to incorporate some muggle traditions too if you’re alright with that.”

“Sure, what did you have in mind?”

“I’d like it to be a surprise, but I definitely think you’ll like it.” She smiled brightly at him.

“You definitely will.” George laughed at his brother, clearly in on the secret. 

“And there will be other muggle things that I know your dad will fall out of his chair over.”

“Sure, I say we do it then.” Fred said, “How can I help?” 

“Not sure yet, but we’ll figure it all out.” Hermione smiled and put her hand over Fred’s. 

He wondered how, through every single conversation they’d had during the days that she had been in the flat with him, she hadn’t mentioned a thing about her relationship with George. They had had some intense and deep and meaningful conversations those days and yet she wouldn’t let him into that part of her life. He told her about his nightmares and about what it felt like when that wall came down and how he felt different now than he did before. He told her that now he sometimes felt like he didn’t want people to see him because he was sometimes ashamed of his scars and he was worried about what others would say about them. 

She had always reassured him that his scars meant he was a survivor, they meant he was still here and that he was a hero. She told him about everything that happened while they were on the run, in greater detail than she’d gone into before, including everything that happened at Malfoy Manor. She even showed him her arm without the charms she normally cast on it. They cried together, they laughed together, they healed together. Hermione hadn’t realized how much she needed to heal, but when she did she realized that Fred was the main person who was helping her do just that. She even told him as much, and he told her the same thing. The road ahead was still long, but they both knew that they would help each other down it and that George would be there too. 

She told him that Ron and Harry were her best friends, but she didn’t want the same things they wanted in life anymore. She used to want to work for the Ministry, they wanted to be Aurors, but now she wasn’t sure what she wanted. The war had changed so much for her and though they were still her best friends she found herself more in the company of the Weasley twins hoping to learn from the carefree personalities they held while also managing to run one of the most successful shops in Diagon Alley (and Fred’s smile made her heart race, but that was neither here nor there). Through everything she told him, he wondered how she couldn’t tell him or talk to him about George, he would have learned to be okay with it, eventually. 

***

The day of the party finally arrived, and the three of them were busy in the shop getting things set up. They were keeping it a lowkey affair, as low key as they could that is, though they were still expecting a large crowd. Hermione spent the night before at the flat so they could get an early start in the morning. Fred insisted she take his bed and he would sleep on the couch, also not sure he could handle it if she slept in George’s room so he offered first, and she graciously accepted. When Hermione heard him yell out in the middle of the night, she crept into the room and shook him awake slowly giving him a big hug and a kiss on the forehead. She pulled him back into his room to sleep in his own bed, and in his sleepy haze, he had gone. Then he woke up with immense guilt as he woke up with Hermione cradled tightly in his arms, he knew he would have to tell George but he would wait until after the party. 

So now they were down in the shop getting things set up, Molly showed up around noon with Arthur and Percy to help them set up and get the food ready. Percy still got teary-eyed when he saw Fred for the first time each visit and was a lot more eager to be a part of family events now that he had earned his way back and he’d almost lost a brother. Before they got down to work, Molly had Arthur bring in a small cake and they all gathered around Hermione singing Happy Birthday to her and giving her hugs. 

After a few hours of teamwork, the shop was ready for a party and everyone dispersed to get ready. Hermione had brought all the stuff she needed to the flat so she got ready with George and Fred and once Ginny found out Hermione was there she insisted on getting ready there too. She and Hermione were stashed away in the bathroom and Ginny was helping Hermione with her hair. 

“Hey Ginny, has Fred seemed off to you lately?” Hermione asked her friend.

“Well a wall nearly crushed him a couple of months ago, I expect he’s still dealing with all that,” Ginny said, straight to the point, and caused Hermione to flinch at her words.

“I know that Gin, I can’t put my finger on it. We’ve had all these conversations about what we’ve both been through and he’s always so open and vulnerable when it’s just me around. Then when George comes around and it’s the three of us he clams up and seems to want to bolt from the room.”

“Why would he not want to be around George? Those to have been joined at the hip since they were born.” Ginny looked at her friend, confusion clear on her face.

“I don’t know, that’s why I asked if you had noticed it or if it was just in my head.” Hermione glared back at her friend with the same unimpressed look causing them both to burst out laughing.

“I haven’t noticed, but I also don’t think I spend enough time with them to truly have noticed. If I did notice anything I probably would have chalked it up to an off day.”

“Do you think Freddie knows?” She asked Ginny in a whispered voice.

“Even if he did I don’t know that it would matter.” 

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the one time he came to visit the burrow we got talking and he mentioned briefly a witch he fancied before changing the subject just as quickly.” 

“Oh.” Hermione said quietly, “Do you think she’ll be here tonight - the witch he fancies I mean.”

“I’m sure she will be and I know she fancies him too so I imagine they’ll be together by the end of the night.” Ginny wiggled her eyebrows at Hermione.

“I hope George tells Fred tonight, I’m sick of this secret.” Hermione changed the subject.

They continued to get ready for their evening, Ginny giving Hermione a dress that was deep purple and fell to just above her knees. Once they were ready, they walked into the sitting room where the twins were already sitting with Ron and Harry who must have come in quietly. Harry got up and kissed Ginny sweetly, telling her how beautiful she looked causing the tough Weasley girl to blush profusely. Hermione followed her into the room and blushed when all eyes turned to her.

Ron went over and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek, telling her she looked nice, and then both the twins followed suit. She felt her heart speed up when it was Fred’s turn. They went downstairs and she followed behind George, whispering to him about her conversation with Ginny.

“You need to tell him, George. I hate keeping secrets from him. That’s not the kind of relationship I want.” she said, her tone firm but not harsh. 

“I’ll tell him tonight, I’m sure he’ll figure it out by the end of the party. Besides, you could tell him your secret too, you know.” He looked at her pointedly. 

“You know why I can’t and why I haven’t.”

Neither of them knew that Fred could hear what they were whispering, and by the time he entered the party he was plastering a fake smile on his face and trying his best not to let his annoyance show. 

Most of the people were already there, and they all took turns coming up to Hermione wishing her a happy birthday and giving Fred hugs telling him how happy they were that he was okay. Angelina Johnson showed up and gave Fred a tight hug and a kiss to the cheek. Hermione saw George smiling at them from across the room, and she knew he was thrilled that they were still friends. A lot of her friends from her year had shown up and she was having fun showing Dean and Seamus all the muggle things she had incorporated into the party and let them in on her and George’s secret, watching Seamus’ eyes light up with utter excitement. 

They ate and drank butterbeer - they would bring out firewhiskey after the parents left - and just had fun together. George made sure they had a photographer going around taking photos of the evening for them. Fred saw his twin nod at Hermione and they both went to the front corner of the shop, using Sonorus to project his voice through the shop and quiet everyone down. 

“Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate my Freddie’s recovery, and Hermione’s birthday, and the end of the war!” He said, eliciting a cheer from everyone there, “Hermione was very adamant about including some muggle games and different traditions into the evening and while we were planning, she got a brilliant idea that we knew we had to bring into the night.” He looked to the smaller witch beside him to continue.   


“How many of you, non-muggle born, wizards have ever heard of a little thing called karaoke before?” She watched them look around unsure and laughed before she continued, “Good! Karaoke is a muggle thing where you get an instrumental version of a song and the words are projected and you sing along. We are going to do karaoke tonight because I loved doing it as a kid and it’s a lot of fun and we need a little bit of fun back. So pick a friend, or a couple of friends, or yourself, then pick your song and let’s have some fun!” she locked eyes with Fred and winked at him causing him to divert his eyes quickly. 

Through all the trauma they had all faced together they hadn’t really ever had the opportunity to just be a little wild and have a little fun. Especially like this. She watched as Seamus practically sprinted to the front of the room and took the first turn on the machine, which George had enchanted to work in the magical world similar to the muggle world only without being affected by the magical interference. From there it was a revolving door of their friends singing along to songs that some of them knew and others didn’t. Hermione watched as Neville, Dean, and Seamus all got up to do one together. Even Molly and Arthur let loose enough to get up there and have some fun.

“So what do you think, Freddie?” George smiled at his brother as he and Hermione came up to where Fred was standing.

“This was your big surprise?” he laughed.

“You got it!” Hermione smiled, “You going to get up there?”

“I don’t know … I’m not much of a singer.” 

“You completely missed the point and half of the people that have already gone then, Mr. Weasley.” She gave him an unimpressed look as her voice indicated her joke, she then grabbed his hand and said, “Look, I know you aren’t sure about having everyone’s eyes on you, so if you don’t want to get up there that’s fine. I figured even if you didn’t want to, you’d get a laugh out of everyone else going. George and I are even going to get up there in a bit so be on the lookout for that.” She winked. 

George Weasley was many things; a twin, a brother, a boyfriend, a friend, an entrepreneur, a war survivor, and so many more. One thing he absolutely was not was a singer. He was still not sure about how he let Hermione convince him to do this but he did. Hermione grabbed him and practically dragged him back to the front.

“George and I spent a lot of time together while we were waiting for a certain other Weasley to wake from his coma. We both got a good giggle out of this song and I think it’s pretty appropriate so I’m making him do this one with me. He also got a good laugh out of the name and the band, so this is Tubthumping by Chumbawamba!” She laughed and the song started. 

It took a couple of lines but eventually, the two of them were having a hard time singing because they were both laughing so hard bringing the rest of the room to laughter too. Everyone except Fred, who Hermione had seen sneak to his office about halfway through the song. Once it finished she nodded to the office, silently letting George know she was going to find Fred. He nodded, gave a look across the room, and followed Hermione to the office.

She knocked loud enough that he would have heard, even over Bill and Charlie singing some boy band song, “Freddie? You okay?” She asked as she opened the door.

She and George went in and Fred was sitting on top of his desk with his head in his hands, “I’m fine. You can leave.”

“Not going to happen, mate. Not until you tell us what is going on.” George said, clearly Fred didn’t know that he was there too. 

“I told you, I’m fine.” 

“Twenty years as twins you think I don’t know when you’re lying to me. Try again.” George’s voice was firm.

Fred didn’t say anything so Hermione said, “I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll be back in a little bit.” She said and excused herself from the room. When she rejoined the party she was immediately pulled into a song with Harry, laughing as he chose Barbie Girl. 

Back in the office, George pushed his brother after a few minutes of silence on Fred’s end, “What is going on with you?”

Fred rolled his eyes and turned to his brother, “Look, I wasn’t going to say anything until later but I can’t seem to let it go. I slept with Hermione last night. Not in the way of sex, but I had a bad dream and she came to wake me and the next thing I know I wake up in my bed wrapped up with her. I’ve felt awful about it all day.” 

George looked at his twin, mouth slightly agape as he tried to think of what to say next before Fred chimed in again, “I’m sorry, I know it was wrong and I feel terrible and it shouldn’t have happened and it won’t happen again. I just, I’m also a little pissed at you both.”

“Why are you pissed at us?” George said with a little more heat than he meant to.

“All this time and you two couldn’t be bothered to tell me that you’re together? And you, I thought for sure you knew how I felt about her, and when you do this. That hurt George. I’ve dealt with it, or I thought I had, but I guess I’m still upset about it. You’ve been my best friend since the moment you were born and you still kept this big secret from me.” 

Hermione chose that minute, not to her knowledge to come back into the office to check on them. She walked into George’s booming laughter and Fred’s face turned red when he saw her, “What in Merlin’s name is going on here?” She asked.

“What’s going on is you two have been sneaking around for months, and neither of you seemed to think you could tell me and now I’ve got George laughing hysterically at my anger about it. The two people I’m closest to keeping secrets from me.”

Hermione’s face scrunched up in confusion, “What are you talking about? George and I haven’t kept any secrets from you, I mean besides the karaoke for the party.”

“Hermione you know there’s something else that we have kept a secret, and I think it’s time we told him.” George laughed, “Freddie, I promise you, you are way off base here, brother.”

He looked at Hermione and then back at George, “I know she fancies someone, and she won’t tell me who. You both continuously share these looks and whispers. I know you’ve been enamored with someone since before I woke up from my coma. I’m not an idiot and I’m not as unobservant as you both seem to think I am.”

“Listen to me, Gred,” George said, pulling out their old childhood nicknames, “Yes, I am dating someone. Angelina. She came to see you when you were in a coma and we got chatting and all my old feelings were still there so we started seeing each other. Hermione knew, and sometimes she and Angelina even hung out.”

“That’s what Ginny meant.” Hermione breathed.

“What?” They both asked at the same time.

“Earlier when we were getting ready Ginny said it wouldn’t matter because Fred mentioned a witch he fancied. I just remembered that Fred took Angelina to the Yule ball. It wouldn’t matter that George was dating Angelina because Fred had moved on from his feelings for her.”

“I only took Angie because Georgie wouldn’t ask her himself and Angie wouldn’t ask George herself. She and I have always just been friends. They both harboured crushes for each other back then but the timing never seemed to work.”

“I’m going to go find Angelina, I think you two need to talk.” He gave Hermione a look and then he was gone.

“Fred, did you really think George and I were together?”

He nodded.

“Well I knew I was hiding my feelings but I definitely thought I was doing a worse job than that. Especially last night.”

“What are you on about?”

“Fred, it’s you. It’s always been you. All the times you saw George and me whispering back and forth it was either for the karaoke stuff or because he was teasing me mercilessly for my crush on you.” 

He looked up at her, “What?”

“You really think I would have lost my shit the way I did when we thought you were dead or that I would have spent every single day with you while you were recovering if it wasn’t you?”

“Maybe you just wanted to spend time with Georgie.” He laughed self-deprecatingly. 

“When you told me that you could hear us in your coma, I panicked and thought back to if I had said anything that told you how I felt. I knew you’d never feel the same and I’d rather have unrequited feelings for you and have you in my life than say something and have you never want to see me again.” He didn’t say anything, just got up from his desk, walked over to her, gently pushing her back against the wall as he kissed her. She was surprised, and let out a little squeak as her back met the wall, and then she sighed into his kiss. He deepened it for a few minutes, before he pulled back, “Unrequited,” he rolled his eyes at her, “You’re mad, woman.” and then he leaned in again and snogged her thoroughly. 

There was a knock at the door, “I hope you two have sorted it out, but it’s time to come back out to the party!” George called from the other side. 

They both laughed, and she went up on her tiptoes to give him one last sweet kiss.

For the rest of the night, Fred held Hermione’s hand in his and gave her little kisses when he thought no one was looking. When one of the Weasleys caught them, Molly jumped up excitedly, exclaiming, “Ha! Arthur you owe me!” and pointing at her husband.

“What was that?” Fred asked.

“George told me before we followed you to St. Mungo’s that he was sure you both fancied each other even though neither of you would tell the other. Your father asked me about it later and I told him and we placed a little wager. I said you’d be together by Hermione’s birthday, your dad thought it would take you until Christmas.” She turned to look at her husband again, “Pay up, Weasley!” and she held her hand out to him as he fished around in his pocket for the sickle. 

“I see where you two get it from.” Hermione laughed as she looked back and forth between Fred and George who were standing on either side of her, Angelina winked at her from the other side of George. 

“Glad you two sorted it out. I was sick of listening to Georgie complain about you both.” She laughed. 

The night carried on and their friends all had a good time, thanking the three of them as they all departed and headed their separate ways. Ron, Harry, and Ginny would return from Grimmauld Place in the morning and help them clean up before Ginny returned to Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall gave her and the others special permission to leave the grounds for the weekend telling them they had to return by dinner Sunday evening. Hermione spent that night in Fred’s bed with him and not because she dragged him in there after a nightmare. 

Throughout the group of friends that had dispersed throughout the wizarding world, there was a sense of joy that they hadn’t felt in a long while, a feeling of healing and a deep love for those they had in their lives and those that they had lost. Over the next year, between the burrow and the flat above Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, the wizarding friends came together to move on, using the two places whenever they needed to just pop in for a friendly chat or because they were having a bad day. Hermione began training to be a healer, Fred and George reopened the shop to great success, Harry and Ron were training to be Aurors, and karaoke nights became a regular thing for the friends whenever they all needed to let loose. Fred in particular always chose to sing the songs that reminded him of the best times of his life. 


End file.
